• At least one of the spouses must have been a legal resident of the state for a minimum of six months (180 days) prior to filing for marriage dissolution.

• At least one of the spouses must have lived in the county where they want to file for a minimum of 90 days before the divorce case is started.

If these requirements are not fulfilled, local courts won't have jurisdiction to hear the case.

Texas accepts both no-fault and fault-based grounds for divorce. In the case of no-fault divorce, it is enough to report "discord or conflict of personalities" that has prevented any "reasonable expectation of reconciliation."

In Texas, the grounds for a fault-based divorce include cruelty, adultery, felony (when one spouse is imprisoned for at least one year), abandonment, separation and living apart for at least three years, and confinement to a state or private mental hospital.

The filing process usually begins by bringing the Original Petition for Divorce and various supporting documents to the District Clerk's Office at the local county courthouse. A petitioner will also need to make at least two copies of each divorce form.

Once the case is file-stamped, the clerk will provide a petitioner with a case number, assign a judge to the case, and issue the summons.

A petitioner must pay a mandatory filing fee unless the court grants a filing fee waiver when filing for divorce in Texas. This payment ranges between $250 and $300, depending on the county where the divorce case is initiated.

Next, Texas Family Law requires petitioners to serve the respondent with divorce documents. This task can be carried out in one of the following ways:

• By Personal Service (e.g., you can hire the sheriff or private process server to deliver the initial divorce paperwork to your partner in person).

• By Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested.

• By Court Order.

• By Posting or Publication (if the respondent cannot be located).

Once the petitioner files a petition for divorce in the appropriate Texas county, the divorcing couple will have to go through a 60-day mandatory waiting period. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the divorce will be automatically granted by day 61.

Often, even spouses applying for an uncontested divorce need to wait 3-5 months before their case can be finalized. Contested cases, in turn, can last over a year.

Once the waiting period ends, you will need to attend a final hearing with the judge to make the divorce final. If divorce conditions satisfy the needs of all parties involved, the judge will sign the Final Decree of Divorce.

At the same time, divorce can only be considered final when the judge signs the final divorce decree, even though this may or may not be the date of your court hearing.